Some of the tossing stories have more detail that is extraordinary. Take the Jackson Pollock painting:
A CBC article covered this in 2008. That’s because there is a Toronto connection in this story, and the story was the subject of a documentary about the purchaser, Teri Horton. She was a 76-year-old female retired truck driver who bought the painting in 1992 as a gag gift. She did not know who the painter was at the time. She found out when she put the painting in a yard sale and an art teacher suggested it could be a Pollock.
The controversy became the subject of a documentary so Horton became very well known, with media interviews and coverage. The core issue is that a Montreal-based forensic expert, Paul Niro, claimed the painting was authentic based on a partial fingerprint match and analysis of paint from Pollock’s studio. But major American auction houses and the International Foundation for Art Research disagreed saying it was a commercially prepared canvas and acrylic paints which they said Pollock did not use.
Horton went on a crusade, rejecting the U.S. art houses and took it to Canada for the sale in 2008 - supposedly $50 million. All the articles said the painting was “worth” $50 million. No article said what is sold for. That’s because it didn’t sell. Teri Horton died in 2019 never accepting any offers, having held out for a minimum of $50 million. That was a long time to hold out for the price - around 25 years.
The offers she received included $2 million and $9 million. What is the current state? Her son, Bill Page inherited the painting and estimated it between $10 and $15 million. He said they tried to sell it but had not tried another forensic study as of 2018. However, there was information at the time that Pollock expert Nicolas Carone had felt the painting was real.
And now in 2025? It is reported to still in private hands and remains unsold.
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